Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Yadra!

a Collage of our view this morning......

as we say in Fiji -

 Yadra(Good Morning)  !


I wonder if you noticed the ferris wheel in the background?  Yes, it is from a visiting carnival....




The railway bridge....The sugar mill will start operating soon and then we will have the little trains using  the rails....






Absolute tranquility....

Have a good day!

Horse rescued from pool in South Africa




Horse rescued from pool: A horse that fell into a swimming pool in Hoekwil near George in the Western Cape was rescued by a mechanical digging machine. See all the pictures of the rescue.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

progress in May

Work is ongoing......

Some jobs are a must do, but some jobs are just for fun

like making a  fish pond   in the nursery...




planting trees and plants and palms


We also had a super moon with super tides this month...
the highs were high and the lows soo low!

the nearby land development was just about under water.


We negotiated this bridge very carefully and a few times the tide was too high for us to pass underneath  the beams with our dinghy.  The bridge that controls our lives...



We also had some visitors in the inlet.  Kapai anchored for a few days.....


Richie and Shine on Kapai  visited us and also got stuck into farm chores...
 Shine fell into the hypnotic trap of watching the fascinating ,waving fiddler crabs.

and who would not be engrossed by these funny creatures with their big yellow claws and their weird gestures....


A fiddler crab is also known as a calling crab.  They are found on our beach in the lagoon which is part of the inter- tidal mud flats.  They communicate by a sequence of waves and gestures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gwet0JLuqWY

Not only do the male crabs have this interesting array of behaviours to gain attention from the female, but they also like to do some showing-off as well! This showing-off includes raising his body off the ground, performing some brag-worthy unflexed leg lifts and of course – the grand finale – the slow claw lift.  It is suggested that this is the male crab’s way of showing off his special qualities in hopes of convincing the female to follow him into his burrow to mate.

So a lot of time on the beach is spent watching the hypnotic  antics of these crabs!



 and a truckload of cassava arrived....
                                           we now have planting material to keep us busy for a week!!!
                                                                                                          or more........


Cassava (Manihot esculenta), also called yuca, mogo, manioc, mandioca and kamoting kaoy a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae (spurge family) native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy, tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates. It differs from the similarly-spelled yucca, an unrelated fruit-bearing shrub in the Asparagaceae family. Cassava, when dried to a starchy, powdery (or pearly) extract is called tapioca, while its fermented, flaky version is named garri.
Cassava is the third-largest source of food carbohydrates in the tropics.[1][2] Cassava is a major staple food in the developing world, providing a basic diet for around 500 million people.[3] Cassava is one of the most drought-tolerant crops, capable of growing on marginal soils.
                                                                                                          (  Thanx Wikipedia  )



Cassava plant  
Cassava root






and we are still preparing beds and planting veggies.....

Beans are up....pumpkins are up.....


Bosse preparing a seedling bed for salads.....


Cabbages are growing.....



We had to make bridges over the  storm water trenches  that Peter and Manu dug earlier this month .....

a big heavy job.....







Each day is a blessing and we are so grateful for our piece of Paradise.......

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

digging the stormwater trenches



And so.......

  A T  L A S T  !!!!!

the day comes that the soil is DRY enough....

that the digger is available.....

that everything is coming together....  ( you knows how some things just NOT want to happen sometimes..)


because  ............


TODAY , we are digging the stormwater trenches !!!!!!

The existing ( duh, NON- existing)  trenches have not been opened / dug in 15 - 20 years and our land got flooded with every decent rain !


and in steps Peter, our Tahitian friend      - (drum roll...)
and the digger  ....

ta dah!


No more getting bogged down in the mud....(hopefully)


It was a looong trench that had to be dug , as well as some side trenches , leading the rainwater to the sea.


Hopefully now,

                                                   w h e n    i t    R A I N S  ... i t    D R A I N S   !



Maururu  Peter  and  Manu!   Unbelievable how these two men changed our lives in two days!